Claw-bab



. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ISAAC LAMPLUGH, OF PEORIA, ILLINOIS.

CLAW-BAR.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 37,172, dated December 16, 1862.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, IsAAor LAMPLUGH, of Peoria, in the county of Peoria and State of Illinois, have invented a new and, Improved Railroad-Spike Drawer; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters of reference marked thereon, like letters indicating the same parts, and in which drawings Figure l is a view showing the implement in position preparatory to the withdrawal of a spike; Fig. 2 a plan view of my spikedrawer; Fig. 3 a sectional elevation of a portion thereof; Fig. a a View in perspective showing the spike partially drawn; and Fig. 5 a view showing the complete withdrawal of the spike.

The object of my invention is, to so construct a spike-drawer that the heel of the implement shall afford a broad firm bearing upon the tie or sleeper, and on its working face present a rolling or shifting fulcrum which in conjunction with a vertical slot in said heel shall allow the body of the spike to travel in the body of the heel and so preserve the vertical position of the spike, thus preventing it from being bent while in the act of withdrawal.

As shown in the drawings the heel H of my spike-drawer is formed with a suitable circular or other formed recess a to receive the head of a spike when the implement is in position as represented in Fig. l, preparatory to the act of withdrawal. Connecting with the recess a, a vertical slot as at o is formed in the end of the implement, of a suliicient width to receive the body of the spike to be drawn, and allow the latter' to freely articulate therein while the handle H is forced down from the position shown in Fig. l, to the position shown in Figs. l and 5. During such act it will be evident that the head of the spike will be confined by and impinge against the wall of the recess a, while the body of the spike as the instrument is depressed will gradually travel into the slot o as indicated in Fig. 4, until finally it willv assume a position at right angles with the upper side of the handle H as in Fig. 5, at which time the withdrawal of the spike will be effected as indicated in the last named figure.

To facilitate the operation, the bearing face of the heel H as at c is made of sufficient breadth to prevent it from being pressed into the wood from which the spike is withdrawn, and is in the form of a segment of a circle from the top face of the implement to the eXtreme fulcrum point CZ, between which points the bearing upon the face c of the spike-drawer is constantly shifting from the commencement of the pull upon the spike to nearly the moment of its complete withdrawal.

It is apparent that by having the slot Z) cut a sufficient depth in the heel H, the spike c in the act of being drawn 7 will be permitted to approach the fulcrum point (Z, and yet not come in contact with the fulcrum arm E, so that by a slight forward or endwise adjustment of the implement toward the spike the latter may be drawn from its bed, and without bending it.

As the implement has a constant bearing upon the rail-road tie or wood from which the spike is to be removed, and which bearing is allowed to vary according as the spike rises from its bed, it will be seen that the act of withdrawal is effected by a gradual and easy leverage,-the fulcrum point d only coming into play after the main withdrawal of the spike has been effected.

Disclaiming the device shown and patented by G. H. Beard on the 12th day of June 1860; and having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is,

The shifting fulcrum arm E having an auxiliary bearing point d, in combination with the slot recess a and heel H, in the manner and for the purpose substantially as described.

ISAAC LAMPLUGH.

Witnesses BERNARD BAILY, PATH. MCHUGH. 

